New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault

The Sexual Assault Reform Act in New York State requires that the sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE) programs in hospitals are 24-hour centers with certified individual SAFE examiners, and are approved by the New York State Department of Health. These programs ensure that victims of sexual assault are provided with competent, compassionate, and prompt care. In 2008, New York State was severely underserved with these specialized services: only 39 out of 201 hospitals, and 19 out of 55 hospitals with emergency departments, were designated as SAFE Centers of Excellence. To better address the needs of victims of sexual assault, the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault (the Alliance) developed a model for training health care providers to offer emergency care that prioritizes the health and service needs of patients, while allowing for the collection of forensic data. In 2008, the New York Health Foundation awarded a grant to the Alliance to build the capacity of its SAFE Training Institute.

Grantee: New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault

Grant Title: SAFE NYC: Quality Care for Assault Victims

Dates: December 1, 2008 – May 13, 2011

Funding: Special Opportunity Grants

Grant Amount: $177,021

Grant Goals:

The Alliance had the following objectives:

• Design and implement training programs for SAFE system participants to meet the training needs of all involved.
• Develop SAFE Continuing Education programs and a credentialing mechanism for system participants.
• Develop sustainable, traditional, and non-traditional funding opportunities to finance training activities.
• Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan for training activities.

Grant Outcomes:

The Alliance accomplished the following:

• Conducted multiple SAFE training programs.
• Conducted an evaluation its training programs; results determined they were valuable, respected resources for building capacity of SAFE Centers of Excellence.
• Built up the skills of individual SAFE personnel in New York.
• Prepared participants for SAFE certification.
• Developed continuing medical education courses and credits for SAFE examiners.

Grantee Website: http://www.svfreenyc.org
Grant ID #: 2008-2354531